Heartache, Pizza, and Phone Charms
by ThisIsTheDungeonThatNeverEnds
Summary: Iris is having boy trouble, so Crowe takes her for a girls night out to cheer her up.


**If this looks familiar, it has been previously posted to my AO3 account under the same name.**

* * *

Crowe Altius instantly shifted to big sister mode when she saw Iris Amicitia crying on a bench in one of the many gardens surrounding the citadel. Her phone was clutched in her small, shaking hands, causing the dangling moogle charm to swing back and forth.

"Whose face do I need to break?"

Iris startled and looked up at the Glaive with bloodshot eyes. She sniffled. "Nobody. I'll be okay. It's stupid."

"Can't be too stupid if it's got an Amicitia in tears." Crowe sat down next to Iris, placing a comforting hand on the girls shoulders. "Talk to me. It'll make you feel better."

"Well," Iris started as she placed her phone in her lab and wiped her face, "August said he liked me. It's not like we were going out or anything, but I thought we could, you know? But he just posted a picture on Instagram of him kissing Madison. And Madison knows I like August!"

"So August's a jerk and Madison's a slut. Happens all the time. Sucks though, hu?"

"Really sucks. And it's even on Instagram so everyone at school's going to know he picked her over me. It's humiliating!" Fresh tears sprang up in her eyes and she buried her face in her honorary big sisters coat, not caring that the bucked of the uniform bit into her cheek.

Crowe wrapped her arms tight around Iris and let her cry until she felt her settle down, tension slowly draining from her shoulders and back. When Iris sat up again, Crowe offered her a comforting smile.  
"I know this feels like the end of the world, but if this August chump doesn't have the basic decency to tell you he's not interested to your face, then he's not worth your day or makeup ruined. Right?"

Iris wiped the last of her stray tears away, along with smudged makeup that was, in fact, ruined. She nodded. "Right."

"So you want to know what I do when guy breaks my heart?"

"What's that?"

"I go home, cry it out, punch something, usually Lib 'cause he's cool like that." Iris and Crowe both laughed. "But then I have fun. I put on a bomb outfit, grab a girlfriend, and hit the town. What do you say? You, me, girls night. No dumb boys to ruin it."

Iris smiled. "Sounds fun."

* * *

"WOW!" Iris exclaimed with a hand over her full mouth. "Who would have thought an arcade would have actual GOOD pizza?"

"I know, right! And all you can eat? Wait 'till I tell the guys about this place."

"Or we could keep it between us girls," Iris said with a wink and a smirk.

"I like the way you think, lil' sis." Crowe raised her glass of soda. "A toast to girls night and honorary sisterhood."

Iris raised her own glass entrapped it to Crowes. The two cheered in unison, "To girls night!" They ignored the attention their volume drew from surrounding tables. After talk g a drink, Iris stood from her seat and slid in beside Crowe on her side of the booth. She opened the front facing camera on her phone.

"Smile, Crowe!"

They huddled in to get both of their faces on camera. They smiled and Iris took the shot. Crowe watched Iris type out a caption for Instagram.

 _At the arcade with big sis blackwingedglaive, #girlsnight!_

"I can post this, right?" Iris asked, mindful of the strictly enforced social media policy of the Kingsglaive.

"There's no glaive insignia in the shot, so it's all good."

"Good."

"See, that's a good move right there. Guys like August, they think you need them. Seeing you out enjoying yourself without him will be a blow to his ego. As long as you don't look like you're trying too hard to make him jealous, everyone will see it and know that Iris Amicitia is a girl who can take care of herself. THAT'S what guys are all secretly attracted to."

"Really?"

"Really. Done with your pizza?"

"Yep. Time to hit the arcade!"

* * *

"YEAH! HIGH SCORE BABY!" Iris shouted triumphantly as the bells of the Justice Warriors pinball machine chimed out her victory. The two had been tag teaming various games for the past two hours and had most recently settled on a universal favorite. She quickly snapped a picture of the score board and tapped out a caption before the next round began.

 _noct_gar, sunshine_kweh, what now? #highscore, #girlpower._

Crowe looked at the time on her own phone and let out a low whistle. "Hate to break it to you kiddo, but we'll have to quit while we're ahead; it's almost ten o'clock. Your dad'll kill me if I keep you out too late on a school night."

Iris face fell. "Aw man."

"We can do this again some other time. Besides, between the two of us we probably have enough tickets for anything at that prize counter. Come on."

Iris sighed. "You're right. Let's go."

When the Crowe and Iris reached the prize counter, Crowe handed Iris her tickets. "Here, sis. Get whatever you want, I'll go get the car warmed up; it's chilly tonight."

"Are you sure, Crowe?"

"I'm sure. This night was for you. Don't take too long now, got it?"

Iris smiled and nodded.

When Crowe left, Iris looked at the many prizes. Crow was almost right; except for the largest prizes, she had enough tickets for just about anything. A small poseable chocobo figure stood out to her, and she was just about ready to trade for it until she saw something else out of the corner of her eye. Her face lit up with a big smile. THIS was perfect, so she handed over her stack of tickets.

* * *

The car was warm and ready when Iris made it to the parking lot. She let her self into the front passenger seat, big smile still on her face.

Crowe raised a curious eyebrow. "So what prize did you get?"

Iris held out her hand. "For you."

In mild shock, Crowe took the marlboro phone charm from Iris' palm by the string. "Iris…"

"For being an awesome big sis. Don't worry, I had enough left over for a sticker."

Crowe smiled and held out her arms to bring Iris into a tight hug. "Thank you, Iris."

"Thank YOU, Crowe," Iris said hugging back.

"So did you have fun tonight?"

Iris laughed. "Best girls night ever."


End file.
